in Ireland now over
300,000 soldiers, all equipped. Every man of them has got a musket and
ammunition. They are ready to march at a minute's notice." "But," said
the other man, "why don't they march?" "Why," said the other man, "the
police won't let them." How admirable! Imagine the infinite God
endeavoring to liberate the Hebrews, and prevented by a king, who would
not let the children of Israel go until he had done some little
miracles with sticks! Think of it! But, said Christians, "you must
wait a little while if you wish to find the foundation of law."

Christians now assert that from Sinai came to this world all knowledge
of right and wrong, and that from its flaming top we received the first
ideas of law and justice. Let us look at those ten commandments.
Which of those ten commandments were new, and which of those ten
commandments were old? "Thou shalt not kill." That was as old as life.
Murder has been a crime; also, because men object to being murdered.
If you read the same bible you will find that Moses, seeing an
Israelite and an Egyptian contending together, smote the Egyptian and
hid his body in the sand. After he had committed that crime Moses fled
from the land. Why? Simply because there was a law against murder.
That is all. "Honor thy father and thy mother." That is as old as
birth. "Thou shalt not commit adultery." That is as old as sex.
"Thou shalt not steal." That is as old as work, and as old as property.
"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." That is as
old as the earth. Never was there a nation, never was there a tribe on
the earth that did not have substantially, those commandments. What,
then, were new? First, "Thou shalt worship no other God; thou shalt
have no other God." Why? "Because I am a jealous God." Second, "Thou
shalt not make any graven image." Third, "Thou shalt not take My name
in vain." Fourth, "Thou shalt not work on the Sabbath day." What use
were these commandments? None--not the slightest. How much better it
would have been if God from Sinai, instead of the commandments, had
said: "Thou shalt not enslave thy fellow-man; no human being is
entitled to the results of another's labor." Suppose He had said:
"Thou shalt not persecute for opinion's sake; thought and speech must
be forever free." Suppose He had said, instead of "Thou shalt not work
on the Sabbath day," "A man shall have but one wife; a woman shall
have but one husband;